As ReconsiDer speaks to thousands of people in
towns and cities each year about the importance of changing our current drug
policy people are always asking me - "What's the reaction?" I submit this article from the Elmira, NY Star-Gazette to
illustrate the way our message is accepted .
Remember, if any of you can think
of anywhere that we should be speaking, any group in your area
that you would like to see us speak to, contact Mike Smithson at speakers@reconsider.org and
we'll try to set something up.
A second look at drug war
” Ex-cop says legalization is key to
controlling problem.
By MARGARET COSTELLO
Star-Gazette
Legalizing drugs would reduce violent
crime and encourage drug abusers to seek help, a retired police officer told
Elmira Rotarians on Tuesday afternoon.
Guest speaker Peter Christ took the
podium Tuesday afternoon wearing a black T-shirt and an earring with his long,
brown hair in a ponytail.
“It’s part of the uniform,” said
Christ, a speaker from ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy, after he had presented
reasons why drugs should be legalized to a mostly gray-haired group of Elmira
Rotary members. He said his appearance forces people to accept something that
does not fit their preconceived notions.
The retired police captain caught a
few people off guard as he advocated the legalization of all drugs and
criticized the criminal justice system for trying to cure addictions with prison
time.
Christ, 54, has 20 years of
experience with the police department in the town of Tonawanda, a suburb of
Buffalo with approximately 65,000 residents. He joined ReconsiDer in
1993.
“I thought he was very
thought-provoking,” said Rotary member Polly Smith-Blackwell, 43, of Elmira.
“It’s an issue that I don’t think about much. What he’s doing is
needed.”
Smith-Blackwell said knowing he was a
retired police captain gave him more credibility, especially with his long hair
and relaxed appearance.
ReconsiDer began in 1992 in Syracuse
to encourage discussions about changing the current drug policy in the United
States through various alternatives. Although Christ believes in legalizing
drugs, the organization does not advocate legalization.
Christ compared today’s drug problems
to the prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Gangsters, such as Al Capone,
found strength and power in the black market sales of alcohol and homicide rates
climbed to all-time highs, Christ said.
“Prohibition is the root of that
violence, not the alcohol, not the drugs,” Christ said. “Legalize it and we can
tax it, regulate it, control it, guarantee purity. And we can send people to
jail if they use it stupidly.”
A 1995 study conducted in New York
City showed that only 15 percent of drug-related violence involved the defendant
being under the influence of the drug, Christ said. The other 85 percent of
drug-related violence were turf wars or problems stemming from competition in
the underground market, he said.
“Legalizing drugs takes the profit
margin out of it,” said Dr. Naeem Parvez, 54, of Horseheads, who agrees with
Christ. “Personally, I think it’s a great idea. Unfortunately, it’s an issue
that’s not politically correct.”
Christ said changing policy is a slow
and difficult process. He compared ending the war on drugs to the abolition
movement, women’s suffrage and desegregation.
“The trouble with bad policy is that
too many good people are backing it,” Christ said. “It starts by talking about
it. No matter how many people believed the Earth was the center of the universe,
it simply never was.”
The economy of
drugs
” The cost of keeping an inmate
in a New York state prison is about $32,000 a year.
” The cost of outpatient drug
treatment usually runs between $3,000 to $5,000 per year.
” In 1973, the federal government
spent $420 million on drug law enforcement. In 1999, it spent more than $19
billion.
” As of Dec. 31, 1998, there were
22,386 drug offenders in New York state prisons, about 33 percent of the total
prison population. It costs more than $715 million per year to keep these people
in prison.
” Of all drug offenders sent to
prison in 1997, nearly 80 percent were never convicted of a violent
felony.
Source: ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug
Policy